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Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Tonight We Dine on Turtle Soup

Perhaps two of the sports victories that feel the best are a win over a big rival and a "reach" win over a team you have no business beating. There may be a bit of discrepancy as to what kind of win it is when UMBC beats College Park in men's lacrosse, but damn, it feels good!

I'm not ashamed to admit that there's a bit of little-sibling, big-sibling rivalry between UMBC and UMCP. As the state's flagship, College Park often gets the lion's share of attention, resources, and prestige. It's no secret that the Terps' athletic programs are higher profile, and in fact, in most cases, I wish for them to do well. I don't pay them much mind during football as a USF fan, but living in ACC country, I tend to pull for the Terps amongst the Tar Heel, Blue Devil, Demon Deacon, and Wolfpack supporters here in NC. Even in lacrosse, I generally want to see them do well, if only to make the victory more of an accomplishment. As it were, the Terps entered tonight's tilt ranked #4 in the country with wins over Hartford, Georgetown, and Duke before falling 8-7 to UMBC.

But why lacrosse? For one, it's the sport in which the two schools consistently play one another. UMCP is looked upon as a bit of a powerhouse in the sport. They are a perennial tournament team and have final fours and national championships to show for their effort (though it's worth noting that UMBC has a national championship more recently than College Park in men's lacrosse). What's more, lacrosse has a special place in the fabric of the state of Maryland. It is one of a handful of hotbed areas in the sport, and in fact, lacrosse is the state team sport. So beating the Terps is quite literally beating them at their own game--beating the state flagship in the state sport. Being able to say we took four of the last six from them comes with a certain degree of bragging rights.